The Corsair Obsidian Series 800D computer chassis was designed to have good airflow, be easy to work in, and to last for several system upgrades. The steel structure has a matte black coating on both sides and the brushed aluminum faceplate looks great. Read on to see how it does for our system build.

The Corsair Obsidian Series 800D chassis is an example of what happens when you think outside the box and design something from the ground up. Several of the design features are unique to this chassis and make it stand out from the crowd. It has clearly done well enough to earn our Innovation Award and we can't wait to see what Corsair is planning for their next case design.

The only thing I really don't like is the door on the front...it just seems to get in the way anymore. I'm wondering if that built in SATA interface has any impact on I/O? Typically, the more connections you have, the less efficient the data transfer is but it's a neat design.

FINALLY! I was wondering what you'd think of this Nate. Glad to see it gets your seal of approval as this is going to be the base of my next system build. Do you think I'll have any trouble fitting in a Swiftech tripple rad up top? How do the extention cables for the PSU work?

Skippman wrote:FINALLY! I was wondering what you'd think of this Nate. Glad to see it gets your seal of approval as this is going to be the base of my next system build. Do you think I'll have any trouble fitting in a Swiftech tripple rad up top? How do the extention cables for the PSU work?

If I owned a triple 120mm radiator I would have used it, but I don't. A triple radiator should work just fine like the dual rad setup. As for the extension cables.. A couple of the shorter SATA cables wouldn't reach, but one would. The height and cable routing system in this case does eat up cable length, so long ones are a must.

Skippman wrote:FINALLY! I was wondering what you'd think of this Nate. Glad to see it gets your seal of approval as this is going to be the base of my next system build. Do you think I'll have any trouble fitting in a Swiftech tripple rad up top? How do the extention cables for the PSU work?

If I owned a triple 120mm radiator I would have used it, but I don't. A triple radiator should work just fine like the dual rad setup. As for the extension cables.. A couple of the shorter SATA cables wouldn't reach, but one would. The height and cable routing system in this case does eat up cable length, so long ones are a must.

Still well worth the cleanness of the install. I'll definitely keep this one in mind for my next build.

I've been exchanging e-mails with a reader (Gerard) and giving him some more measurements to see if the idea he had for water cooling would work in the obsidian 800D

He contacted me first with this question:

What is the distance in mm from the top of the case to the upper edge of the motherboard. I need to know if my double radiator gtx360, 54mm with fans 2*25mm on both sides can fit up there. 104mm is the thickness of my fan + radiator + fan config.

I replied to him that the clearance was around 4.25" or 107.95 millimeters... That meant it was going to be tight, but should work.

He sent me this picture tonight of his finished system and everything fit inside just fine:

dsc9865.jpg (106.28 KiB) Viewed 24210 times

A great little system there and I'm glad that our article is helping people out!

Gerard, thats an excellent looking system you have there! We'd love it if you could take the time to post what you're running and any build tips you have for this case. It looks like you're running a triple radiator with 6 fans on it, three pushing and three pulling. Do you have any temps yet?

All of the "interesting" case designs I've ever seen were always made of cheap plastic or complex metal shapes that just get in the way. I love that I can make the inside of this case a work of art while having the outside be sedate and... well, monolithic.

Nate, in your review you mention it has room for 3 140mm fans and up to 4 120mm fans.

I count 3 140mm fans (Case rear, bottom PSU heat zone, RAID rack) and 3 120mm fans (top of case). Where is this 4th 120mm fan you mention? I ask as I will likely replace all the Corsair fans with high performance Yate Loons.